The Luck of Clan Harper
by Fantasy-Muse
Summary: The crew of the Andromeda come across an abandond ship that has someone with ties to a crewmember. Takes place during Season One.
1. The Other Side of Despairing Insanity

A/N: This story takes place during Season One. And I don't own Andromeda, but Tribune.

Where does one go from a world of insanity? Somewhere on the other side of despair. –T.S. Eliot

The Other Side of Despairing Insanity

"Okay, I just heard it, again. Are you sure you didn't hear it, Dylan?" asked Beka as she walked over dead bodies strewn on the ships' floor.

"Beka, the ship is abandoned, and Andromeda did not pick up any life signs."

"Then why are we here? There's nothing good to salvage, anyway," replied Beka.

The sound came again, and this time she could have sworn it sounded like the High Guard March.

"Dylan, there's something or someone here!"

Beka stopped in her tracks and waited for the whistling to start. She waited until she could hear it clearly before following it. The whistling guided her to a stack of bodies where a gravely ill woman laid beside them. Her blonde hair was straggly and her blue eyes appeared to be somewhat glassy.

"It took you long enough," the woman scolded as she tried to get up.

"Dylan, we've got someone alive," said Beka as she gently pushed the woman down.

"What! How's that possible?" said Dylan as he started toward Beka position.

"I don't know. Maybe Andromeda didn't scan it right or completely," replied Beka.

"Excuse me, I did scan the ship correctly and completely," said an offended Andromeda.

Beka looked at the woman, and guessed she had to be around Harper age.

"Hey, you have anything to eat or drink? I haven't had anything in a while," asked the woman.

Beka shook her head no.

"Damn, just my luck. Chalk it up to being a Harper," she said with a faint smile.

"Harper?" asked Beka.

"Yeah, Anwen Zola Harper, at your service," the woman replied before coughing violently. Her whole body shook and then she went limp.

Beka felt for a pulse and was relieved to find a faint pulse.

"Hang on, Anwen, help is on the way," muttered Beka.

Dylan stepped over the bodies strewn around the corridor as he made his way to Beka. Many of the people appeared to have died right were they lay. He forced himself to look straight ahead as he passed by a corpse of a child.

"Where the hell is he?" thought Beka as she looked at Anwen. She noticed that the woman looked very similar to Harper. Beka heard footsteps and readied her Gauss gun. She was just about to fire when she realized that it was Dylan.

He smiled and said "So where's the survivor?"

"Right here," said Beka as she pointed to the woman next to her.

Dylan looked at her and asked "Is she……."

"Just barely, we need to get her to medical or she'll die."

Dylan picked up the woman and headed toward the Maru.

"Rev, Trance, we need you to prep the med bay. We've got some company," said Beka she followed Dylan.

* * *

Trance looked at the blonde-haired woman lying before her. She was wearing tattered shirt and pants. She injected the woman with nanobots and turned to face Beka and Dylan. 

"She had a few broken bones and a really nasty cold. The nanobots and some sleep will heal her," said Trance.

"Captain, I've found something very interesting that I think you should see," said Andromeda.

Trance watched as Beka and Dylan walked out of the med bay.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll go now," said Trance as she started to leave.

Rev nodded his head as he straightened up the instruments. The woman lying on the bed looked familiar to him, but he couldn't place where. The tattoos the woman had were very familiar to him, though.

* * *

Trance hummed to herself as she made her to the hydroponics bay. 

"Hey Trance, how's the patient?"

"Oh, she's fine. Her name is Anwen by the way," replied Trance absentmindedly.

"Anwen?" asked Harper.

"Yes, Anwen, well that's what Beka says her name is," replied Trance.

"Oh, crap. I've got to go. Thanks, Trance," said Harper looking pale.

He took off running toward the med bay.

"I wonder what that was about," thought Trance with a shrug of her shoulders. She kept on walking toward hydroponics.

* * *

"Captain, this is a Nietzschean ship belonging to the Drago-Kazov pride. The records indicate that it was on a slave run from Earth with members of group called Amazon. It appears that the slaves fell ill and the Nietzscheans abandoned ship," said Andromeda. 


	2. Despairing Blackness

A/N: Please forgive me for any glaring innaccuries and such during this chapter. As I have not seen "Bunker Hill" I don't know what Earth is like. So I am using my creative license to describe Earth.

Then black despair, The shadow of a starless night, was thrown Over the world in which I moved alone. –Percy Shelley

Despairing Blackness

Anwen opened her eyes as the sounds of voices came closer. She moved herself closer into the darkness in a vain attempt not to be seen by the Nietzscheans.

"They're raiding earlier than usual," she thought as the voices passed by. She saw two pair of feet walk by.

"These kludges are starting to get uppity," griped a male voice.

"Aw, quit your whining," replied another male voice as he walked by.

Anwen gave a silent sigh of relief and her breathing became more relaxed. Before she could enjoy it, a large hand grabbed her leg and roughly pulled her out.

"Put me down, you bastards!" she yelled as she was held up in the air. Harsh baritone laughter filled her ears as blood rush to her head.

"Looks like we got a feisty kludge," said one of the Nietzscheans.

Anwen could feel the Nietzschean's dark green eyes bore into her. She fidgeted as he looked at her tattoos.

"It appears this one's an Amazon to boot," he said.

"Which level?"

"Protector," he replied disappointedly as he eyed the two spears tattooed between her collarbones.

"I'll have you know, I'm damn good at my job," Anwen retorted. She felt a sharp blow to her head and causing her to yelp in pain.

"See I told ya they're becoming uppity, Henry."

"Shut up Yosuf, and let's take this Amazon kludge to the holding center," replied Henry harshly.

Anwen saw her cousin Sunny holding her hand over Coras' mouth to prevent the child from crying. She gave them a smile, but her insides wanted to scream in pain. She saw tears cascade down Cora's face before blacking out.

* * *

Anwen awoke with a pounding headache and confusion. She looked around trying to remember anything before. She let out a little sob as the image of Cora crying came to mind. 

"Cora, sweet wonderful Cora. I'm never going to see her, again," she said softly.

"You should be happy she didn't get caught," said a soft, calming female voice.

"I know but Cora was one of the only things I had left from my family," Anwen replied.

"I know the feeling, sweetie," replied the woman.

"Lexa, stop filling her head with nonsense," scolded another woman.

"Carnie, why don't you cram it?" replied Lexa coldly.

"Ladies, I think we should give the new one some space," ordered a female voice.

"Uh, thank you………."

"You can call me, Annabelle," she replied with a small smile.

Anwen returned the smile and said "I'm Anwen by the way."

There was a jolt and Anwen blacked out, again.

* * *

The woman on the bed let out a piercing scream and then was silent. Suddenly her body started to convulse. Rev Bem gently eased the woman on her side and noticed that the tattoos formed a necklace of sorts. Slowly the convulsions stopped and it was then Rev heard a clinking sound as something hit the ground. He gently eased the woman onto her back and saw lying on the floor were two metal disks with writing on them. He picked them and turned them about while trying to figure out the writing. It was like nothing he had every seen in his life. The door opening caused him to look up, and see Harper walking in. 

Harper walked slowly into the med bay and saw his older sister lying there. He saw that she'd finally cut her long blonde hair short. His proud, older sister was lying there helpless as a newborn.

"Is something the matter……." Rev Bem started to say.

"That's my older sister. Someone I thought I'd never see, again," interrupted Harper as he walked over to her. He gently picked up her hand and squeezed it gently. The woman's blue eyes opened and looked at Harper.

"See Zee?" she asked.

"I'm here, An. Everything going to be better, now," he said.

Anwen painfully searched for the disks.

"The disks! I can't find them, See Zee," she said frantically.

Rev Bem cleared his throat getting Harper and Anwen to look at him.

Anwen let out a loud, piercing scream when she saw a Magog standing behind her younger brother. Her breathing and heartbeat rapidly increased as old memories came flooding back. She tried to get up but Harper forced her down gently.

"Anwen, it's okay. He's not going to hurt you," he said calmly as he pushed her down.

"How do you know that?" she said.

"He's a Wayist, Anwen."

Before Harper could say anything more Beka and Dylan rushed in. Harper offered them a faint smile.


	3. Despairing Illusion

". . . no battle is ever won . . . they are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and Victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools." –William Faulkner

Despairing Illusion

There was an awkward silence as everyone looked at each other. Suddenly the holographic image of Andromeda appeared causing Anwen to let out a little gasp.

"Captain, I am sensing a slipstream event," she said.

"Beka, let's go check it out," said Dylan.

Beka glanced over at Anwen and Dylan shook his head no.She pursed her lips and followed Dylan out of the med bay. Rev gave Harper the disks before exisiting the med bay.

Harper looked at the disks in his hand before handing them over to Anwen.

"Rember when we got them from Spiffy?" asked Anwen as she looked at the disks as they glistened in the light.

Harper nodded his head in agreement.

There was an uncomfortable silence as neither sibling knew what to say.

"You're an uncle now," she said softly as she traced the writing on the disks "Her name is Cora, and she's part Nietzschean."

Harper was taken aback and stumbled away from Anwen.

"Stay away, just stay away from me," he said before bolting out of the med bay. Anwen struggled to get off the bed and follow her brother. She made it past the med bay door before searing pain stopped her. She slid down the wall pulling knees underneath her chin. She could feel the disks imprinting themselves into her skin. She could feel the hot, searing tears come down her face as she thought of what happened. She rested her head on her knees and let the tears flow. It wasn't long before she dirfted off to sleep.

* * *

Harper worked abestmindedly at something in an effort to ease his pain and anger. 

"How could she let this happen? She could've done something!" he thought as he threw a tool down. It bounced off the table and skidded across the floor.

"Some anger issues, Harper?" asked Beka.

"Um, no,' replied Harper as he looked up.

Beka picked up the tool and handed it to him.

"That's not what it looks like, Harper. You only work haphazardly when somethings bugging you. So what is it?" asked Beka.

"I'd prefer not to say," he replied.

"So there's something wrong but you're not going to tell?"

"Hey, we all like to keep some secrets hidden," he said sharply.

Beka nodded her head and walked out of the machine shop shaking her head.

"What exactly is going on with Harper? And what does Anwen have to do with it?" thought Beka as she walked to the galley.

* * *

"Push, come on push. I can see the head," ordered Lia. 

Anwen took a deep breath and pushed, again. She griped Via and Sara's hands as she pushed. She heard a pitiful cry and asked "Is…….."

"Congratulations, you've got a beautiful daughter, Anwen," said Lia with a smile. She cut the umbilical cord and handed the newborn to Anwen. Anwen counted the fingers and toes, and let out a little laugh.

"She's….she's prefect," said Anwen in awe.

Lia chuckled but said nothing.

Anwen opened her eyes quickly and looked around trying to orient herself. She remembered fighting with Seamus but nothing afterward. She opened up her hand holding the disks, and saw deep impression in her skin from the writing. She placed them in her pocket, and slowly got up. She looked around trying to figure out which way to go. She closed her eyes and walked right. She followed the maze of corridors and ladders while stopping ever so often to look around. She felt like she was in a neverending maze. Her stomach growled loudly remeind her that she hadn't eaten in what felt like several days. She continued down the corridor until she came across a door. She walked toward it and the door opened. She saw sitting at a table was a young, purple woman with a tail. She was a loose, short flowerly shirt and tan pants. Her hair was short and blonde with all sorts of clips holding it back from her face. She appeared to be in a conversation with someone. Anwen curiosity got the best of her, and she walked cloer to peer in.

Sitting across from the purple alien was a woman with short, blonde hair.

"Trance, I don't………" the woman started to say but she saw Anwen peeking into the room.

"Well, you're awake. Come on in," the woman said while getting up. Anwen glanced at the purple alien who let out a laugh.

"I wouldn't harm you because you seem nice," she said pulling Anwen in. She forced Anwen to sit next to her with a smile on her face.

"I'm Trance by the way," the purple alien said.

"I'm Anwen, Seamus's older sister," Anwen said tentatively.

"Oh, you're Harper's sister! That must've been fun," Trace said.

"Uh, yeah fun. I don't mean to inturpt but is there anything to eat around here?"

Trance got up to get Anwen some food. Beka took this opportunity to ask Anwen something.

"What did you say to Harper?"

"I'm sorry………." Anwen trailed off to indicate that she didn't know the woman's name.

"The name's Beka, Beka Valentine. I was the one who took your brother off that hellhole, by the way. So I want to know what did you say to him?"

"Beka, be nice to our guest," said Trance as she set a plate in front of Anwen.

Anwen dove into the plate and didn't notice Beka leaving with hate filled eyes.


	4. Depressed Dread

It is a miserable state of mind to have few things to desire, and many things to fear. –Francis Bacon

Depressed Dread

"The architecture of this ship is beautiful. I bet the circuitry is even more stunning," said Anwen.

"Why thank you," said a female voice behind them.

Anwen turned her head to see a woman with bobbed brown hair.

"Did….." she started to say.

"Oh, Rommie, this is Harper's older sister, Anwen," interrupted Trance with hint of excitement.

Rommie raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, amazing isn't it? Two so-called geniuses aboard the same ship," said Anwen wryly.

"There are two Harpers aboard!" Said holographic Andromeda as she appeared next to Rommie.

"It's…..you're…the…alive," stammered Anwen.

"Why yes," replied Andromeda and Rommie at the same time.

"Did my brother have anything to do with………" Anwen started to say.

Rommie nodded her head yes.

"That doesn't surprise me in least. He never really got out much," Anwen said rolling her eyes.

"Anwen, if you are done here the captain would like a word with you," Rommie said.

"I figured as much, though if it's not that much trouble could I take a shower?" asked Anwen as she got up.

Rommie did notice that woman did have a smell to her, but didn't know how to mention it tactfully. Rommie nodded her head in agreement, and left Anwen in the care of Trance.

Anwen stepped out of the shower to find her clothes gone. She saw laying on the bed several tops and pairs of pants. She pulled the towel tighter as she walked toward the bed. She touched each shirt in amazement. Never in her life had she seen so much color and texture. After trying on all the pants and tops, she decided on a long-sleeve, blue velvet shirt and black pants. She put on her well-worn black boots, and looked at her hair. Even after a thorough washing it still hung limply. She tucked it behind her ears, and gave herself a smile. 

"It might have done nothing for my hair, but it did wonders for my tattoos," thought Anwen of the shower.

She neatly folded the shirts and pants, and placed them into a pile. It was then she noticed her disks lying on the bed. She smiled and put them in her pocket.

"I was going to have one made for Cora," she thought sadly as she slid them into the pocket. She became so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear the door open. Someone clearing their throat brought her back to reality. She turned around to see Rommie standing there.

"I'm ready now," she said.

"Please follow me," said Rommie.

Anwen followed Rommie through the maze of corridors and ladders to Dylan's office.

* * *

Dylan looked up to see Rommie entering the room with a much cleaner Anwen. He noted that she was indeed a dark blonde after all. She was wearing one of Trance's tops and a pair of Beka's pants. Her black boots looked very large on her small frame. He stood up and offered Anwen a warm smile. She looked at him skeptically but gave a polite smile. He pointed to a chair, and waited until she sat down before he did. 

"I'm Captain Dylan Hunt of the Commonwealth Starship Andromeda Ascendant. I'd like to ask you a few questions, if it's okay with you?"

"Um, sure. I'm Anwen by the way," the woman replied.

The appearance of Andromeda prevented Dylan from speaking.

"Captain, we have an unidentified ship requesting permission to dock."

"I'll be right there," said Dylan sprinting from his chair. Rommie and Anwen followed after him.

"Andromeda, on screen," ordered Dylan as he entered the command deck.

Suddenly a man with a jagged scar across his face filled the screen.

"Attention, this is Vassy of the Anthem requesting permission to dock. We have run into some engine difficulties."

"This is Captain Dylan Hunt of the Commonwealth ship Andromeda Ascendant. Your request for docking has been granted."

"Thank you," the man said before the screen went black.

Anwen watched the exchange with dread. She knew Vassy was none other than Vasco de Leon. The man responsible for killing Gerald and she was the one who gave him that scar. She knew he'd kill her the first chance he got. She felt torn between warning Captain Hunt and hiding.

As he passed by she reached out grabbed his arm. He stopped and gave her an impatient look.

"Excuse me, Captain Hunt. I don't think it's wise to let that man aboard. He is a slave trader, and well, I've had a few run-ins with him in the past."

"You are on the most powerful warship in the universe. I promise no harm will come to you," he said before continuing on his way.

Anwen stared in disbelief as Dylan and Rommie walked away. She had hoped he would've done something other than offer up an empty promise. She gave in to her instinct to hide and took off running. She didn't know where her feet were taking her except that it was down. Finally she sat down when her lungs felt like they were going to explode. Tears came down her face as she remembered Gerald being killed.

"Damn it, Gerald! Why did you have to go out that day?" yelled Anwen in the empty corridor. She hit her fist against the wall and let out a loud sob.


	5. Bitter Memories

Now conscience wakes despair That slumber'd,wakes the bitter memory Of what he was, what is, and what must be Worse. –John Milton

Bitter Memories

Anwen rolled over and looked at Gerald's face with a smile. He returned the smile and gave her a kiss on the cheek. A small figure interupted the scene when it jumped on the bed.

"Daddy! You made it! Mommy was worried that you'd gotten hurt or somethin'. I told her not to worry, but she did anyways. Oh, and I made somethin' for you," gushed a small girl as she crawled over to her father.

Gerald picked up his daughter in his arms and tossed her in the air being careful not to hit Anwen with his bone blades. Anwen laughed her daughter shrieked with delight as she was caught.

"Again, Daddy! Do it, again," begged the small child as she brushed her long brown hair out of her face. Gerald picked up Cora in his arms and tossed her repeatedly in the air with shrieks of delight coming from the child. Anwen got up from the bed and got dressed. She went to the make shift kitchen to look for some food.

"Find anything, Sweetie?" asked Gerald as he came carrying Cora on his shoulders.

Anwen shook her head no and asked "How long do ya think de Leon is going to enforce it this time?"

"I don't know, but on the bright side we know he's not gonna round anyone up," replied Gerald as he set Cora down.

"I know……."

"Aunt Sunny," yelled Cora as her faux aunt walked in.

"Hope, I'm not interupting anything but I found some food," said Sunny with a sly girn on her face as she set a bag down.

Anwne gave her a smile, and started taking food out and looking at it.

"How the hell did you find this stuff?" asked Anwen.

"I've got my sources, too."

"I've got to get going, Sweetie," said Gerald before gave Anwen a kiss. He knelt down and Cora gave him a hug.

"I'll be seeing you later, my gems," said Gerald before he left.

Anwen waved good bye and returned to sorting thourgh the food. Suddenly there was sound outside causing her to drop the apple in her hand. It rolled toward Cora who picked it up, and began munching on it. Anwen ran to the window and saw Gerald being held down by several Nietzscheans. One of them pulled his head up as a tall, blonde haired man walked toward them.

"Well, well. It seems someones been naughty," said the tall, blonde man as he looked Gerald in the eyes.

Anwen took in a sharp breath of air.

"I've done nothin' wrong, de Leon," said Gerald defensivley.

"That's not what I've been told, but of course your kind tend to lie," replied de Leon as he kicked up dirt and gravel into Gerald's face.

Gerald tried to lunge at de Leon who let out a laugh at his feeble attempts.

"You were never that strong, Gerald. I can tell you've just been with them by their smell coming from you. Which means they're nearby. So here's the deal, you tell me where they are, and I'll let you live. How does that sound?" asked de Leon as he crouched in front of Gerald.

"I would rather die than tell you," replied Gerald before spitting on de Leon's face. The man stumbled back in shock and looked at Gerald with pure hatered. He wiped the spit off and said "Take him away, and the rest of you are to spread out and sweep these buildings!"

His men stood there prompting him to shout "Either you follow orders or I'll kill you, understand?"

His men promptly followed the orders.

Anwen turned around and said coldy "You told them, didn't you?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Anwen? You know I'd never betray you. God, I'd give up my life, that's something I've told you a million times," replied Sunny.

Anwen roughly scooped up Cora and headed for the backdoor casuing the child to cry loudly.

The sound of footsteps brought Anwen out of her reverie. She looked up to see Seamus walking toward her. She offered him a faint smile which he returned.

"Hi, See Zee. Did they send you to come get me?" she asked as her brother sat down next to her.

"Get you for what?" asked a puzzled Harper.

"To return me to de Leon. He's here and he'll want me back 'cause I'm a runaway slave."

"An, you do't have to worry about being a slave anymore. Dylan would never return you to de Leon, I promise."

"Do you promise on that thing you call a brian?" she asked.

"I do, and if it turns out I'm wrong well I'll cut my head open and take it out."

"If you are planning on doing that please do so after you have repaired Vassy ship," said Andromeda.

"Uh yeah. Could you give me a momment or two with my sister?" asked Harper.

"Very well, I will tell Captain Hunt that you are coming."

"An, this is a big ship and knowing Dylan he won't let Vassy know you're here."

An looked at her brother in the eyes with tears welling up in hers.

"Would you feel better if I took you some place safe?" he asked.

She nodded her head, and took his hand as he helped her up. The siblings walked through the corridors in silence. Harper stopped outside a door and knocked on it lightly. He offered his sister a smile before the door opened. Standing in the doorway was the Magog from earlier looking a little confused. Anwen silenced a scream and tried to pull herself free from her brother grasp.

"Is there something I can help you with you, Harper?" asked Rev.

"I was hoping that my sister could stay here for a while," replied Harper.

"Oh, by the powers of the Gods and Goddessess, Harper, you've got to be kidding me!" said Anwen as she tried to back away.

"Think about it Anwen. There's really no place but here that, well, I can stash you."

Anwen was about to hit her brother on the head when Andromeda appeared, and said in a sharpt tone "Harper, Captain Hunt would like you up in the hanger bay now."

"Sorry, An but I've got to go," said Harper as he pushed Anwen toward Rev. He took off running before Anwen or Rev could say anything.

* * *

Vasco looked up when a small, blonde haired man entered the room loudly. The rest of the group looked over as the young engineer picked himself up, and walked toward them. He had an embrassed smile on his face. 

"Good, to see that you made it Mr. Harper," said Dylan as Harper reached the group. No one but Harper noticed that Vassy seemed to wince at the mention of his name.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" asked Harper.

"I really don't know. I would have you talk to my engineer but sadly he died on the way here," Vassy said in a oddly cold voice.

"Uhh, well me an' Rommie here will have your ship running in no time," Harper said proudly.

"That sounds wonderful," Vassy replied as he pointed to his ship with his arm "I'll just show you the way to the engine room, and you can start."

Harper and Rommie followed Vassy as he led them through a maze of corridors to the engine room. Harper had to surpress a gasp as they passed by a burned corpse of what appeared to be a man. The long, blonde haired man made no acknowledgement that there was a corpse in the engine room.

"Here we are. I hope you are able to fix it," said Vassy with a creepy smile before he left.

Harper waited until Vassy was out of sight before saying, "He is just creepy behind on words. Let's get started so we can get out of here faster."

"Maybe it was a good thing that we had some 'engine' problems after all," thought Vasco de Leon with a smile as he walked from the engine room.

* * *

"Would you like to come in?" offered Rev as he stood out of the doorway. 

Anwen glanced at the ever shrinking figure of her brother before saying "If my brother trusts you, I guess I can trust you."

Rev smiled causing Anwen to shiver a little.

"Please don't do that, it's just a little to creepy for me," she said as she walked into the room. She took a seat in a corner and pulled a knife from her boot. She strarted to play with as she watched Rev sit a little distance from her.


	6. Tears

Little child dry your crying eyes  
How can I explain the fear you feel inside  
Cause you were born into this evil world  
-When The Children Cry by White Lion

Tears

"I've checked everything and it's still not working," said Harper as he kicked part of the engine.

"Are you sure you checked everything?" asked Rommie as she held a burnt finger by her fingertips.

Harper was instantly taken back to the first time he saw a dismembered body. His sister had dragged him outside of the camp to look for something. Instead the found a partially decomposed, dismembered body. Anwen had taken an interest in it while he had stayed back in disgust. It was about then he realized that Anwen had a strange fascination with death.

"Harper! Hey Harper," said Rommie when she realized Harper wasn't paying attention.

Harper shook himself out of the reverie and said "Huh, what?"

"I was saying now that the finger is out everything should work," she replied.

"Good, how about we give it a little test run," he said.

"I don't think that will be necessary," said a male voice from the doorway.

Rommie and Harper to turned to see Vassy leaning against the doorframe with a creepy look on his face.

"You know what, I think me 'n Rommie are done here. So if you don't mind we'll be on our way," said Harper nervously.

Vassy nodded his head in agreement and stepped aside to let Harper and Rommie go by.

"I wondered how much I could get for that one," thought Vasco as he watched Harper and Rommie disappear around a corner. Vasco turned his attention to his dead engineer slave body and gave it a kick. He disgustingly picked the body up and placed it in a storage bin. He walked to his cabin and took off his long, flowing black coat revealing bone blades hidden by the coats flowing sleeves. He tossed it on a chair and lay down on the bed to sleep.

* * *

There was an uncomfortable silence as Anwen and Rev took part in an unofficial staring match. 

The silence was finally broken when Rev spoke "I do hope in time that you will trust me as your brother does. I have lived my life as a Wayist for years, and done no harm. Just because I am a Magog does not make me evil. Even our resident Nietzschean is not that bad."

Anwen lost control of the knife which spun away from her.

"That's something Seamus forgot to mention," she said crossly.

"He probably did that for your own good."

"I'm sure he did."

"I was wondering what do the tattoos around your neck mean," asked Rev to distract Anwen.

"The spears symbolize my status as an Amazon protector. The full moon flanked by crescents moons symbolizes the Goddess while full moon crowned with a crescent moon symbolizes the God. The oroborus represents the infinite cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The triquetra represent protection. The spiral is a representation of rebirth, and you of course know this symbol," said Anwen as she pointed to her infinity tattoo.

"But what about the ones on the back of your neck?" asked Rev.

"Those where chosen by the leader and the meanings are only known to her," said Anwen. In truth she knew what one symbol was however she didn't trust the Magog.

Before Rev or Anwen could say anything Harper rushed in. He saw the knife lying on the floor and looked at Anwen quizzically.

"Hey, it slipped out of my hand," said Anwen defensively.

Harper looked at Rev who nodded his head in agreement.

"Hey Seamus, I'd like to know why you failed to mention the presence of a Nietzscehan?"

"I forgot," he offered.

"Wrong answer," said Anwen as she got up and stood in front of Harper.

Rev Bem got up and pulled Harper away from Anwen.

"I think all of us should take a nice relaxing walk."

* * *

"Dylan, I'm telling you that Vassy is……" Beka stopped at the sight of Anwen, Harper and Rev walking down the corridor. She pulled Dylan back and pointed in the trio's direction. 

"Well, miracles can happen," said Dylan.

They noticed that the trio was walking in an uneasy silence.

It was broken when Dylan said "It's good to see you, Anwen."

"The same to you, Captain."

"Dylan if you have a moment I would like to talk with you." Said Rev.

"I think now is a good time."

Dylan and Rev walked away leaving Anwen, Harper and Beka.

"Ya know what, I've got some things I've got to finish," said Harper before running off.

Beka and Anwen eyed each other for a few seconds.

"I would like to say thank you for taking care of Seamus," said Anwen.

"Um….ah….no problem," said a confused Beka.


	7. Gloomy Tranquility

Despair has its own calms. –Bram Stoker

Gloomy Tranquility

Vassy eyes snapped opened when a soft buzzing sound was heard. He picked up a small, metallic device and smiled evilly.

"Well, well my little lab rat is here and moving. I just might have to take a tour of this wonderful ship after all," thought Vassy.

He quickly picked up the tracking device and put it in his pocket. He slipped into his coat making sure to cover his bone blades completely. He silently slipped out of his ship and walked toward Anwen.

* * *

"I was wondering if you could give me a tour of the ship?" asked Anwen. 

"I'm not really the person you should ask," replied Beka.

Anwen grabbed her head and sank to the floor.

"Get it out! Please, get it out!" she mumbled.

Beka crouched down and asked "Get what out, Anwen?"

"The chip, the chip. He knows I'm here. Oh, god he's going to find Seamus!"

"Chip?"

"Tracking chip, he puts it in all of science experiments."

Beka crouched there in stunned silence. She didn't know how to respond to something like this.

Anwen let out an ear piercing scream and said louder "Get it out, please do something!"

"Oh god, let's get you to the med bay," said Beka as she helped Anwen up. Beka struggled to keep Anwen up as they made their way to the med bay.

"Andromeda…….." Beka started to say when a shot whizzed by her. She dropped down and hid behind a wall.

"Give me my property," yelled Vasco as he fired off another shot.

Beka looked at the woman lying beside and at Vasco. She fired off a shot nearly hitting Vasco.

"Andromeda, get Dylan, Tyr over here pronto," ordered Beka. She looked up and saw Vasco standing above her with a creepy grin on his face.

"Two for the price of one," the man said as he snatched Beka gun. He placed it in a pocket and in the processed revealed some bone blades. Beka let out a little gasp causing Vasco to grin even more.

"Help her up," he said.

Beka hesitated.

"Help her up now," he said pointing the gun at her head.

Beka helped Anwen up into a standing position.

Vasco pointed the gun at Beka head and said "Help her to my ship, and if you don't I'll kill you."

The trio its way slowly toward de Leon's ship.

* * *

"Tyr, there is a situation on level 30," said Andromeda as the Nietzschean walked out of the galley. Tyr picked up his pace and was on deck 30 in a matter of minutes. He saw at the far end of the hall Vassy pointing a gun at Beka who was holding up a blonde haired woman. When the women weren't moving fast enough he shoved them with the gun. 

"What's going on?" asked Dylan.

"It appears that our guest is in the process of kidnapping Beka and that unnamed woman," said Tyr as they followed the trio closely.

"Harper's older sister," said Dylan as he readied his forcelance.

Both of them fired at Vasco. The man ducked behind a wall and returned fire.

"You're dead now," said Beka smugly.

Vasco slapped Beka and said "Get moving."

Once again the trio started to make its way to the hanger but at a quicker pace. There were several more small firefights but with no hits on either side.

* * *

Vasco shoved Beka and Anwen onto his ship and locked the door behind him. He forced the two women into a room and pointed with his gun to lay Anwen on a bed. 

"You sit down," he ordered Beka. She sat down in a chair to find her wrists and ankles clamped down. He then proceeded to tie down a now unconscious Anwen.

"I'll be back later ladies," he said before leaving the room. He readied his ship and took off. He artfully dodged the missiles that were fired at him and causally went into slipstream.

* * *

"I promised Anwen that he wouldn't get her and you let it happen," yelled Harper. 

"Mr. Harper, I know your angry but yelling at me isn't going to bring Beka or Anwen back. Besides we don't know where this Vassy is going," said Dylan.

"Earth," replied Harper.

"Andromeda, ready a course for Earth," ordered Dylan.

"Aye, Captain."

* * *

"You know Dylan is going to get you," said Beka defiantly. 

"Oh, is he now," said Vasco as he readied a needle. He walked toward Beka with the needle in hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.

"Oh just a little experimentation," he replied as he jabbed the needle into her.

Beka tensed as she felt fire consume her body. She let out an ear piercing scream and blacked out.

"Thank god, now I'll have some peace for a while," thought Vasco as he left the room.


	8. Dark Comfort

Now, God be praised, that to believing souls gives light in darkness, comfort in despair. –William Shakespeare

Dark Comfort

Anwen looked out across the crowd as the hangman put the noose around her neck. She glanced over at Gerald who looked perfectly calm

dispute the cuts and bruises on his body. She on the other hand was having a hard time keeping the tears down. Before she could think of

anything else she felt the trapdoor open. She felt the rope go taut and she started to gasp for air. The last thing she saw was Gerald gasping

for air.

Anwen opened her eyes to find herself in a small, dank cell without any daylight. At first she thought that her strangling was nothing more

than a dark nightmare. She felt her neck and to her horror she the indentations of a rope.

"Where the hell am I?" she thought.

She heard the door open and she saw standing in front of the door was de Leon.

"Well Sleeping Kludge has finally awakened. I felt that you were too precious to waste," he said with an evil grin. The door opened and

several guards and Vasco stepped into her cell. It was then she saw the needle in his hand. The guards held her as Vasco injected her with

something. She let out a scream and kicked Vasco in the knees which resulted in her getting slapped by Vasco. He picked up the dropped

needle and said "Do that again I will personally kill you."

"I dare you too," Anwen replied.

He snapped his fingers and the guards let her go.

"We'll be back to check on you," said Vasco before he and the guards left.

Anwen barely heard the door close as she sank to the floor.

"This is just a horrible dream. I just have to go to sleep here and I'll wake up next to Gerald," she thought over and over.

As she felt her mind drift off her eyes snapped open to find herself in a small, dank and dimly-light cell. Her mind raced over the past

events and her stomach filled with knots when she realized where she was.

"Damn, damn," she thought glumly as she looked around her prison. A low moan brought her attention to a darkened corner of the cell. She

slowly made her way over to the source, and found Seamus's friend, Beka. She could tell that they'd had just put in a tracking chip by the

bright red scar on Beka's forehead.

Anwen bit her lip as she realized that Beka was running a temperature. She looked around and saw a pile of dirty blankets in corner along

with a pail of water. She grimaced in disgust at the sight of the water. She picked the pail and blankets up and set them next to Beka.

She ripped up a blanket into strips and placed them in the water. The rest of the blankets she covered Beka with. She wrung the strips out

and put the Beka's fore head.

* * *

Dylan landed the Maru without many problems from the Nietzcheans. Now the hard part was finding Anwen and Beka without raising

suspicion of the locals. Tyr, Rommie, Harper and him walked through the ruins of Boston toward the refugee camp. 

"How the hell am I going to find two women in a place like this," thought Dylan as they passed by a ruined building.

The group could see in the distance a barbed wire fence and more ruined homes.

Tyr stopped and pointed to a darkened, abandoned building not far off.

"We're being watched," he said softly.

They quietly made its way to the building being careful not give away the knowledge of being watched. Harper stayed behind Rommie as

they neared the building. Harper remembered playing here with his sister and their cousins when they were young. Suddenly they were

being assaulted with rocks. They appeared to be coming from every direction which forced them to hunker down next to a pile of rubble.

Harper glanced over his shoulder and saw several tattooed women pointing guns at the group.

"Boss, we've got a problem," said Harper as he tapped Dylan on the shoulder.

"I know that Mr. Harper," replied a frustrated Dylan.

"I don't mean that Boss."

"I suggest you drop your weapons or we'll be forced to shot you," ordered a female voice from behind.

They turned around to see several women with tattoos standing over them. One of them shouted something and the rocks stopped being thrown.

"Uber get up," ordered a heavily tattooed raven haired woman.

"Maybe……." Dylan started to say.

"I wasn't talking to you, Traitor," hissed the woman with hate filled eyes.

Before Tyr could comply a voice from the crowd shouted "Seamus Zelazny Harper, you better have a damn good reason for showing your face here!"

Harper scanned the crowd for the source and saw coming toward him was his cousin Sunny. She walked through the group of armed women  
and gave him a hug.

"Seamus, it's so good to see you," she said before giving him another hug.

"Sunny, it's so good to see you."

"Aunt Sunny," said a young girl with braided brown hair as she pushed her way to the front. Everyone could see that she had already started  
to grow bone blades as she stood in front of Sunny. The woman draped her arms around the child's neck which the child promptly held.

The child eyed Tyr, Dylan and Rommie before asking "Are you my no good Uncle Seamus?"

The crowd tried hard to suppress their laughter but without much success.

"Yes, I'm your Uncle Seamus, and what is your name?" he asked when he reached her eye level.

"I'm Cora Zofia," the child responded proudly. Cora hesitated for a second before wrapping her arms around Harper's neck and planting a

kiss on his cheek. He sat there for a second before returning the hug.

The crowd heard a strange sound and the raven haired woman said "We need to get everyone inside soon. Or they'll kill us."

The crowd started to disperse and soon only left Sunny, Cora, Harper, Rommie, Dylan and Tyr.

"You're invited to stay with us, but I can tell you right now we don't have anything fancy," said Sunny with a glance at Tyr.

"Uncle Seamus, are you going to come with Aunt Sunny and me? I can show you my room," said Cora.

Harper glanced at Dylan before saying "I'd love to but I think I need to stay with my friends."

"Aunt Sunny said they could come with us, even the Nietzchean is welcome," replied Cora.

"We do need to get going," said Sunny anxiously.

"I think we'll take you up on your offer," replied Dylan with a smile. Sunny returned the smile with a cautious one.

"Uncle Harper, you wouldn't mind carrying me?" asked Cora as Sunny started to walk away.

"Uh, sure," replied Harper before picking Cora up in his arms.

His niece laid her head on his shoulder as they walked down the ruined streets of Boston.


	9. Indulgent Fury

A/N: I'm really sorry about posting it later than I promised. I'll try and have the next chapter done as soon as possible.

I will indulge my sorrows, and give way To all the pangs and fury of despair. –Joseph Addison, Cato

Indulgent Fury

Cora pulled Harper into a small, dirty room that had electronic components and tools scattered about. She handed him some small, shiny disks that reflected tiny rainbows along the walls.

"Aren't they pretty," said Cora as she handed him more.

"Uh yeah," replied Harper absently as he looked at the room. It was a little bigger than the room he shared with his sister and cousins.

"Cora, time for bed," said Sunny as she poked her head in.

Cora pulled her face into a pout and said "Do I have to?"

"If you go to bed now, your Uncle Seamus will tell you a story," Sunny offered.

Cora's face brightened and she hopped onto a pile of dirty blankets.

"Night Cora," said Sunny with a smile.

"Night Aunt Sunny," replied Cora.

Sunny blew Cora a kiss and then left.

"I'm ready for my story, Uncle Seamus."

Harper sat there in stunned silence causing his niece to get up and run to the doorway. She stuck her head out and yelled "Aunt Sunny, I think Uncle Seamus is dead?"

"Are you sure? He could be stunned, sweetie."

"Okay, I'll check."

She ran over to Harper and poked him repeatedly. When there was no response she ran back to the doorway.

"Aunt Sunny, I'm not getting anything."

"Why don't you just jump on him," replied Sunny over muffled laughter.

Cora took a running leap and landed squarely in Harpers' lap. He jumped in surprise causing Cora to laugh.

"Story time, Uncle Seamus," she said as she settled herself in his lap. Harper paused for a moment before launching into his version of how he came to be aboard the Andromeda.

* * *

Anwen bit her lip as she looked at Seamus's friend. The woman had a high fever and was becoming delirious. There was still a bright red spot where the tracing chip was placed and her lips were still cracked and bloodied. She cleaned up the blood as best she could before footsteps distracted her. She looked up to see unconscious Seamus and Sunny being dragged by several guards. She forced herself not to react at their presence in order to protect them. The guards unceremoniously threw them into the cell. 

"Stupid kludges, always doin' dumb things," muttered one of the guards as they left.

Anwen waited until they were out of sight before going over to her cousin and younger brother battered and bruised bodies.

"Seamus Zelazny Harper and Sunny Alanna O'Connor what the hell are you doing here?" she muttered under her breath as she checked over their bodies and to her relief they had pulses.

"What is it with my family and doing stupid actions?" she thought as she leaned Seamus against a wall. He looked like he had been beaten recently by the look of his bruises and blood. Sunny looked like she had taken most of the beating. The left side of her face looked like one big bruise. There were several deep wounds that looked like they had stopped bleeding. Anwen cleaned up their wounds as she forced herself not to cry. Seamus had a boot imprint on his left hand that also looked broken. She tried to wrap his hand carefully to prevent any further breakage. She looked back at her handy work and saw it was poor compared to what Aunt Lina used to provide. She let out a sigh of hopelessness at the sight of her family.

"Do we all have some sort of death wish ingrained in us?" she thought as she watched Sunny and Seamus. She became so entranced that she didn't hear someone approaching and the cell door opening.

"Such a nice family reunion and such a pity that your daughter isn't here." asked a cold male voice.

"You leave my daughter alone," she said just as icily.

Vasco laughed and said "And take away the fun of a family reunion, I think not."

Anwen lunged at him but stopped short as she felt pain explode in a million places. She crumpled to the floor in a heap. Anwen watched as Vasco left the cell with a purely evil smile on his face.

* * *

Dylan, Tyr and Rommie had been following the heavily tattooed woman for the better part of the morning. Several hours earlier Harper and Sunny had snuck off within minutes of each other. 

"I swear irrationality is a family trait," he thought as the hiked through mounds of rubble. The woman held up her hand for them to stop as they neared an empty building. Tyr shifted his weight impatiently as the woman looked around.

"Stay here," she ordered before disappearing into the empty building. It wasn't long before she appeared with Cora in tow.

"Irrationality must be a family trait," thought Dylan as Cora offered the group a faint smile.

The woman knelt down in front of Cora and looked the child in the eyes.

"Cora, how many times I have told you not follow me or the other Warriors?"

Cora looked down at her feet and mumbled "Lots of times, Rory."

"Do you know why you're not supposed to be out here?"

"I don't have the proper training and I'm too young."

"That's right sweetie, and that means one of your mummy's friends is going to watch you," Rory said with a glance at Dylan.

The woman shoved Cora in Dylan's direction and said "Watch after her or there'll be hell to pay. Let's go you two."

Dylan stood there in stunned silence as Rory, Rommie and Tyr walked away. Cora eyed Dylan with caution.

"Are you going to save my family?" Cora asked him after a while.


	10. Actions' Remedy

Action is the antidote to despair. –Joan Baez

Actions' Remedy

Harper awoke to a pounding headache and sore body. He tried to get up but found that something was restraining him. He looked down and saw Anwen sleeping on his chest. Her head was resting on his chest while her arm was wrapped around his waist.

"Hey An, you wouldn't mind moving?" he whispered.

"Not moving," mumbled Anwen in her sleep.

Harper tried to push Anwen off but found it painful to move his hands. He attempted to wiggle himself free from Anwen but her grip tightened.

"Why do I always end up as the pillow?" he thought as he looked at his sister. A low moan brought his attention to Beka lying on a pallet in the corner.

"An, I need to check on Beka," said Harper.

Anwen bolted upright nearly hitting Harper in the chin in the process. She hurried over to Beka, and noticed to her relief that the fever had broken. The swelling around the tracker chip had gone down immensely.

"Your friend is going to be fine," said Anwen with a smile.

"I don't feel fine right now," said Beka as she tried to sit up. Anwen gently pushed Beka down with a smile.

"It's good to see you're better, Beka. I was worried that de Leon had tried to kill you."

Harper opened his mouth to ask a question but the sound of gunshots stopped him. They could hear the gunshots and voices coming closer. The door swung open to reveal Tyr, Rommie and a heavily tattooed woman.

"Hey about time you got here," said Harper happily. He received disapproving looks from Tyr and Rommie. The heavily tattooed woman stepped forward and broke the lock.

"Come on, we don't have much time," said the heavily tattooed woman nervously.

"Would you calm down Rory," said Anwen as she tried to pick the still unconscious Sunny up.

"Leave them," said Rory with a glance over her shoulder.

"You know the rules, Rory."

Rory gave Anwen a smirk and picked Sunny up.

"Is the other one alive?"

"Of course I'm alive but I can't move," said Beka angrily.

Anwen offered Beka helped Beka get up slowly from the pallet.

"Is that everyone?" asked Rory.

Anwen nodded her head.

"Let's go."

* * *

Cora peeked out of window and smiled when she spotted her mother. She ran out of the building with Dylan running after her. 

"Mommy!" Cora shouted as she ran toward her mother. Anwen smiled with relief as her daughter ran toward her. Cora gave her mother a hug and looked at her with a large smile on her face.

Dylan saw that Beka was barely walking and had an angry red welt on her forehead.

"We need to get out of here as quickly as possible," said Rory as she looked behind her.

"What do ya think?" said Anwen as looked at the ground.

"You sure it's the only way?" asked Rory.

"Yeah, but I don't know if they're ready or able to."

"I don't mean to interrupt but could you tell me what you're talking about," asked Dylan.

"The tunnels," replied Anwen and Rory at the same time.

Cora scrunched up her face in disgust.

"It's creepy and it smells funny," said Cora.

"Captain, it's the only way to avoid them ubers. They don't like to get themselves dirty," said Rory with a wry grin and a glance at Tyr.

"Are you sure?"

"Captain, if you want to live then I recommend you come with us," said Rory.

Dylan hesitated for a second before nodding his head in agreement. Rory lead the group toward an entrance to the tunnels.

* * *

Vasco de Leon thought himself a forgiving man but the actions of his guards severely pushed his mercy. He paced before the guards standing before him. 

"How could you let this happen! They were a simple group of kludges and you let them walk all over you!"

"Sir, one of them…..well was Nietzchean," said one of the men.

Vasco stopped his pacing and his face turned a vivid red.

"Then that traitor will have to pay for his crimes. What is your excuse for letting those two kludge women walk over you?"

"Sir, one of them was an Amazon and well the other had amazing strength."

Vasco laughed and said "You let two Amazon kludges beat you up? Your genes really are starting to look unworthy."

The men looked ashamed as they started at the ground.

"The only way to redeem yourselves is go find them. And remember they are to be brought back here alive, especially that traitor."

The group shuffled out quickly to leave their boss to his thoughts. Vasco opened a desk drawer and pulled out a key. He placed it in his pocket and walked through a maze of hallways to his destination. He unlocked the ancient door and walked into a dimly lit room. A man with straggly blonde hair looked up as he walked in.

"Your whore is quit the fighter, Gerald," said de Leon with a sneer.


End file.
